ABSTRACT
The use of “natural” or alternative medicines has increased markedly over the last few years. More and more older adults (i.e., baby boomers) are using complementary and alternative medicine dietary supplements and herbal remedies without advice from a physician on the assumption that these substances will have a bene˜cial effect (Cohen, Ek, and Pan 2002). However, this might not be a safe or advisable practice. For example, at least one recent survey revealed a signi˜cant problem with herb-chemotherapeutic drug interactions in cancer patients and, notably, at least half of the herbal remedies taken by these patients lacked research data documenting their potential interactions (Engdal, Klepp, and Nilsen 2009). Regrettably, a great deal of the information regarding the effectiveness and safety of these remedies has been garnered from anecdotal or historical accounts, and much of the information offered is generally misleading and might even be detrimental (Ernst and Schmidt 2002).
